Josh is awesome and you should take lessons from him - period! Okay, now that you know where I'm coming from let me tell the rest of the story... Josh and I started lessons in May of 2016. Having been away from the guitar for nearly forty years I was really rough (and obviously an old guy). But Josh came to my rescue. He started very slowly with me and was always encouraging. He started with some basic music theory, tricks to help keep good tempo, and fairly easy music to pick up. But right from the beginning Josh was interested in what I wanted to learn. I chose ten or twelve songs I wanted to learn and off he went building the tabs for those songs. Didn't need to buy sheet music...it was far more fun watching him decompose the music by ear. In fact he did a much better job than most of the YouTube tutorials I was watching. When I was looking for a teacher I wanted someone that plays live at clubs and knows the pressure of performing. I found that in spades with Josh. He is a phenom on the guitar and my wife and I enjoyed several 'date nights' listening to him perform. It was the best of both worlds; a date with my wife and listening to the guy who was teaching me to play - too cool for words. As far as teaching style, Josh is a very intuitive and compassionate person that I found extremely easy to learn from. He pays close attention to hand and finger position and we talked a lot about picking styles. He seems to be comfortable in just about any genre although I never asked him to put any rap on the menu! I miss Josh both as my guitar mentor and as my friend. I am now addicted to the guitar and am way beyond where a started. I guess maybe I'm at the intermediate level but will always consider myself a beginner when I listen to Josh play. I think you will be delighted with Josh regardless where you are starting or how old you are when you do. He just gets in and flows with it...just like he plays. Call him up. You won't disappointed. He has CDs for sale. Buy one and listen for yourself. read more

I found Josh earlier this year on Craigslist in the Denver area before he moved to New York. I consider myself very lucky for the time that I've had with Josh. My perspective comes from being a beginner at the guitar who's had many false starts attempting to learn the instrument. Josh brings a very unique talent to being a guitar teacher. The biggest thing for me is that I'm an overachiever and tend to be pretty hard on myself, at every lesson I had with Josh he made me feel completely comfortable about not playing perfectly. He has a great way of allowing you the space to make mistakes and gently guiding you to more efficient or easier ways at attempt fingering chords or attacking the strings with the pic. I have gained many insights from Josh and he makes me feel like I could grow into the instrument. Some other great qualities that Josh brings to the student-teacher relationship, he has a great sense of humor and those times that I was uncomfortable because I was being too hard on myself, he put me at ease. I think you will really benefit from Josh's talents because ultimately he is a huge guitar fan himself, that translates into his playing which if you listen to his CDs there's a fluidity about his style that's effortless. And Josh having been playing guitar for so many years and being the accomplished musician that he is, this allows him to teach at whatever level you are at. From my limited perspective as a relatively new musician I could see that Josh really has taught so many people that he can truly tailor the time that you spend with him to enhance or improve what it is you want to accomplish in the easiest way. I always left my lesson with Josh feeling truly inspired and I'd go home and play to solidify everything we had just been through. My wife would always comment when I got back from seeing Josh that I looked energized. Thank you Josh! read more

Josh is a combination of rock and jazz guitar Jedi knight, music professor and secular saint. Almost a decade ago I had the pleasure and privilege of taking private lessons with Josh when he was a teacher at a large Manhattan based guitar school. Over the course of approximately two and a half years Josh helped me surpass my initial very modest guitar goals. Here are two significant examples: 1. I performed in public at two school concerts ; something I tried to avoid because, to be honest , it terrified me. Not only did I survive the experience I bleeping loved it!!! 2. Instead of having me copy the lead guitar solo from my favorite Grateful Dead song he showed me how to create a solo of my own; something I had never even dreamed of doing!! Without question he is a fantastic musician, but NYC is filled with people like that. What separates Josh from the rest of the pack is that he has a fervent love of teaching and a big heart for people.....and of course he's flexible in terms of scheduling (sometimes the fact that I have MS made things difficult for us to get together) and he's got a great sense of humor. Whether you are an absolute beginner or a budding SRV or EVH you'll be just fine with him. Thank God he moved back here from Colorado. That state's loss is our city's gain. read more

When my son was eight years old, a year has gone by since he gave up the last guitar lesson that he was struggling with, I asked if he was ready for giving guitar another try. He was hesitant, but he said ok nevertheless. I started doing research online, surfing through numerous websites, hoping to find a good guitar musician who can teach kids this time. I came across Josh Maxey's website, emailed back and forth, and arranged the trial class. The rest of the four years is history. Today, my son is 12 years old, he is still taking guitar lessons with Josh regularly; and more importantly, guitar has become my son's friend. He plays when he is happy and plays when he is sad; he plays when he is alone and he plays when he has applauses. I am glad to see that guitar and music has become an important component of my son's life while he starts his teen years. Josh has made it happened. Now my son has a play at his school and needs to play several different songs. Josh has taken my son step by step in learning these songs, now my son knows the song as well as the back of his hand. Josh has been a major part in my child's life and will definitely benefit whoever is willing to take his lessons. read more

The five star review accurately depicts what I believe Josh Maxey's guitar lessons are - as good as it gets! I have taken lessons over the years so many times, but none of the instructors were as talented, responsive or practical as Josh. I am sad that he has returned to NYC, but happy for those who will seek to enhance their skills and abilities through Josh's instruction. Josh has the ability to cause you to believe in yourself; to do what you thought you couldn't or were afraid to try. I owe Josh my newfound confidence and great joy in playing guitar after the lessons he provided. My deepest and most heartfelt appreciation, Josh! read more

Josh is a fantastic teacher! I began lessons with very little experience playing guitar. My goal was to learn many of my favorite songs while learning how to jam with other musicians as well. Josh was able to integrate both into our lessons allowing me to progress my guitar skills beyond what I could have imagined over the course he was teaching me. I am now able to play songs and learn new songs on my own in addition to playing with other musicians while always having a great time. I would highly recommend Josh as a guitar teacher!!! read more

I had a great time taking guitar lessons with Josh and would definitely recommend Josh as a teacher. Josh is professional, knowledgable, and overall a nice person who I enjoyed working with. I've made significant progress in just a few months. Our lessons focused on rock, blues, and jazz. We did a combination of theory, technique, learning songs, and improvisation. The lessons had a good balance of pushing me to get better and learn new things but also working on things I enjoy to keep me motivated and engaged. read more

I found Josh online when I moved to NYC. I had just started playing and I had stalled out teaching myself online. I needed an instructor to help me develop a proper practice routine and develop good techniques. Josh was extremely patient and helpful, I learned so much from him. He also really helped me develop confidence in my playing which is so important when you're just beginning. His love of music and skills are inspiring. Most of all, he's a great guy. I couldn't recommend him more. read more

I started lessons with Josh from a google search March 2016. When I started I could play the beginning of Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd and that was about it. Through weekly lessons with Josh I am a much more well rounded player. I can now play whole songs, know chords and scales, and am much better at hearing notes and chords in songs where I had no clue before what was going on. I recommend lessons with Josh at any skill level, he will help your playing dramatically!!!! read more

Josh is the real deal. His technical understanding of the instrument is immense and he also seems to have a deep appreciation and understanding of many genres of music. I'm an intermediate to advanced student and Josh helped turn me on to some really cool ideas that have helped my playing immensely. Besides being a good teacher he is a pleasant person and a pleasure to work with. read more

I cannot say enough about Josh. Hands down the best instructor I have ever had the pleasure of studying under. His love of music exudes from his happy persona and he has the ability to teach music theory without it ever feeling like he is teaching music theory. Josh makes guitar fun. read more

It is important to me to have a teacher that is active and growing. Someone who sounds great, who writes music, and inspires me to grow as a musician. If you are looking to become a better guitarist and musician, Josh Maxey is someone you need to check out! read more

I have really enjoyed taking lessons from Josh. His talent along with his easy going personality made the lessons fun. He is flexible and willing to work on anything i wanted. His musicianship is unparalleled. I would recommend Josh for any level. read more

A friend of mine who is a great guitarist suggested I call up Josh and look into lessons. Excellent referral!! Josh is a top notch technical instructor. He takes the time to observe where you are and help you get to where you need to be. read more

No better instructor out there - aside from being disgustingly talented, Josh's patience and teaching approach is second to none. Highly recommend and will continue to do lessons with Josh into the foreseeable future. read more

Best guitar teacher I have met! I had already known quite a bit and he met me where I was at and expanded my knowledge and helped me increase my skills I would highly recommend him!! read more

I have 20 glowing reviews but yelp only shows a few! I don't know why they do that. You can find them by looking at not recommended reviews.